Triple talaq debate in LS: Govt says don’t use political prism, opp wants bill to go to par panel

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December 27, 2018

Asserting that the triple talaq bill is about “Insaaniyat aur insaaf”, the government on Thursday said the legislation should not be weighed on the scales of politics while a united opposition strongly demanded that it should be referred to a joint select committee of Parliament, dubbing its provisions “unconstitutional”.

The debate on the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, which was tabled by Prasad last week, began in Lok Sabha amidst exchange of barbs between the treasury benches and the Opposition.

With opposition parties, including the Congress and the Trinamool Congress demanding that the bill be sent to a select committee for a greater scrutiny, Prasad said the government has already taken note of concerns expressed by members earlier and amended the bill accordingly.

Parliament had earlier unanimously supported laws, including the one prescribing death in rape cases, aimed at giving justice to women, and the triple talaq bill is also a step towards justice for women, he said.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said an earlier bill on triple talaq was discussed and passed by the Lok Sabha. Therefore, members can flag issues during the debate. She said all of a sudden a demand cannot be made to send it to a committee.

Opposing the bill in its current form, Congress MP Sushmita Dev said the real purpose of the bill was not to empower Muslim women but to “penalise” Muslim men and added criminalisation of triple talaq goes against the Supreme Court verdict.

“In the name of empowerment you (the government) has given nothing but a criminal case to women…the aim of the bill is not to empower Muslim women but to penalise Muslim men,” she said.

The fresh Bill to make the practice of triple talaq among Muslims a penal offence was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 17 to replace an ordinance issued in September.

The fresh bill will supersede an earlier bill passed in Lok Sabha and pending in the Rajya Sabha.

The government is at liberty to re-promulgate the ordinance if the bill fails to get through Parliament.

ISIS case: Court sends 10 accused to 12-day NIA custody

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December 27, 2018

A Delhi court on Thursday allowed 12-day custodial interrogation by NIA of 10 people arrested on the suspicion of being members of an ISIS-inspired group who were planning suicide attacks and serial blasts, targeting politicians as also government installations, in Delhi and other parts of north India.

NIA had sought 15-day custodial interrogation of the arrested, saying it needed to unearth the entire conspiracy for which there were intelligence inputs.

The agency’s plea was opposed by advocate MS Khan, appearing for all the accused, on the ground that NIA has already unearthed everything involving the case as they had held a press conference on Wednesday to make public the outcome of their investigation.

After their custodial interrogation, they will be produced before the court on January 8.

The accused were arrested from various parts of the national capital and Uttar Pradesh after searches carried out on Wednesday.

Those arrested are: Mufti Mohammed Suhail alias Hazrath (29), Anas Yunus (24), Rashid Zafar Raq alias Zafar (23), Saeed alias Sayeed (28), Saeed’s brother Raees Ahmad, Zubair Malik (20), Zubair’s brother Zaid (22), Saqib Iftekar (26), Mohammed Irshad (in late 20s) and Mohammed Azam (35).

Projects worth Rs 26,000 crore underway in HP: Modi

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December 27, 2018

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that development projects worth Rs 26,000 crore were under way in various sectors in Himachal Pradesh.

Addressing a ‘jan abhaar’ rally to celebrate one year of the Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government in Himachal Pradesh, the prime minister also said the state was like home and he had learnt a lot while travelling through it.

Modi said that he felt great happiness seeing those he worked with become front line leaders.

He described Himachal Pradesh as the land of brave soldiers who were ever ready to make supreme sacrifices at the border.

Congratulating Thakur on completing one year as chief minister, Modi said, “Himachal Pradesh is like my home. I worked here for several years for the party’s organisational work.”

The Prime Minister will release a booklet on the achievements of the BJP government.

Modi went through an exhibition put up by the state government to showcase benefits of state and centre sponsored schemes for the general public.

The Prime Minister was welcomed by the chief minister, former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, Kangra BJP MP Shanta Kumar and Union Health minister Jagat Prakash Nadda when he reached the helipad in Dharamshala.

Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Devvrat was also present on the occasion.

Kevin Hart to host New Year’s Eve party post Oscars controversy

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December 27, 2018

Comedian Kevin Hart, who stepped down as the Oscars host earlier this month, will be ringing in New Year at another gig.

Hart will be hosting the New Year’s Eve weekend event at Drai’s Nightclub in Las Vegas where he will be joined by rappers Lil Wayne, Future and Big Sean among others.

The 39-year-old comedian announced the news on Instagram on Wednesday.

“Oh my God! New Year’s Eve weekend in Vegas at Drai’s is about to be unreal. Unreal? I’m talking about one of the biggest and best lineups in the world.

“You got my man Fab, you got Lil Wayne, you got Big Sean, you got Future. You got the countdown hosted by yours truly, Kevin Hart,” he said in the video he posted.

The comic captioned the video: “NYE weekend I’m teaming up with my @Draislv family to host the biggest weekend ever… with a crazy line-up featuring @myfabolouslife@bigsean @liltunechi @future”.

On December 5, Hart was named the host of the 91st Academy Awards but stepped down following a controversy over his old homophobic tweets that resurfaced.

The Oscars are still looking for a host after Hart’s departure.

1984 riots care: Sajjan Kumar likely to surrender before court on Dec 31

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December 27, 2018

Former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar is likely to surrender before a court here on December 31 to serve the life imprisonment awarded to him by the Delhi High Court in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

“We will comply with the high court’s judgment,” his counsel Anil Kumar Sharma told agencies.

The counsel said Kumar’s appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the high court verdict is not likely to be taken up for hearing before December 31.

Raj govt will work in collective leadership, 100-day action plan to be rolled out soon: Pilot

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December 27, 2018

Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot on Thursday said that the state government will work in a collective leadership and a 100-day action plan will soon be rolled out.

Pilot, who took charge of his office at secretariat here on Thursday after allocation of portfolios, said the decision of portfolio allocation was taken after discussion with Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

The allocation of portfolios were done late Wednesday night after Chief Minister Gehlot and Pilot held meetings with Gandhi in New Delhi that day.

“People gave the mandate and now the government will deliver. We will work in a collective leadership. Ours is a balanced cabinet with new, young and experienced members,” the deputy chief minister said.

Pilot, who has been given the charge of public works, rural development, panchayati raj, science and technology and statistics departments, arrived in Jaipur from New Delhi in the morning and took charge of his office in the secretariat.

Portfolios were allocated two days after 13 cabinet and 10 ministers of state took oath on Monday.

Govt to infuse Rs 28,615 cr in 7 PSBs soon

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December 27, 2018

The government is likely to infuse Rs 28,615 crore into seven public sector banks (PSBs) through recapitalisation bonds by the end of this month, sources said on Thursday.

The amount infused will help the banks meet regulatory capital requirement, and its disbursement might take place before December 31, sources said.

Out of these seven PSBs, Bank of India is likely to get the highest amount of Rs 10,086 crore, followed by Oriental Bank of Commerce, which might get Rs 5,500 crore through recapitalisation bonds, sources added.

Other banks that are likely to receive capital infusion in this round included Bank of Maharashtra which may get Rs 4,498 crore, UCO Bank (Rs 3,056 crore) and United Bank of India (Rs 2,159 crore).

The government had earlier announced an infusion of Rs 65,000 crore in PSBs in 2018-19, of which Rs 23,000 crore has already been disbursed, while Rs 42,000 crore is remaining.

Earlier this month, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government would put an additional Rs 41,000 crore in PSBs over and above what was announced earlier.

On December 20, the government sought Parliament’s approval for infusion of an additional Rs 41,000 crore.

The recapitalisation, the finance minister said, would enhance the lending capacity of PSBs and help them come out of the Reserve Bank of India’s Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework.

Eleven out of the total 21 PSBs are under the RBI’s PCA framework, which imposes lending restrictions on weak banks.

These are Allahabad Bank, United Bank of India, Corporation Bank, IDBI Bank, UCO Bank, Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Dena Bank and Bank of Maharashtra.

‘161 IPOs garner $5.52 bn till November in 2018’

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December 27, 2018

Indian stock exchanges ranked second globally in terms of number of initial public offerings (IPOs), raising $5.52 billion from 161 offerings till November this year, according to a report.

At the BSE and the National Stock Exchange, there were only two IPOs in fourth quarter of this calendar year, compared with nine and three in fourth quarter of 2017 and third quarter of 2018, respectively, said EY India IPO Trends: Q4 2018 report.

A similar trend was witnessed in the small and medium enterprise (SME) market. There were eight IPOs in fourth quarter of 2018, compared with 31 and 42 in fourth quarter of 2017 and third quarter of 2018, respectively, showing a drop of 74 per cent and 81 per cent, respectively, it said.

Industrial sector — construction and engineering — was the most active in terms of number of IPOs, whereas the financial services sector was at the top in terms of issue proceeds.

According to the report, the drop in IPOs could be attributed to reasons such as significant corrections in the stock markets in mid-cap and small-cap stocks.

Further, the amount of volatility has increased due to uncertainties around global growth compounded by the ongoing US-China trade wars, it said.

“Overall, we expect IPO candidates to take a ‘wait-and-watch’ approach, until the stock market correction, low rupee exchange rate and other domestic and geopolitical uncertainties reach resolution,” it said.

Meanwhile, with 261 IPOs raising $60 billion, the US remained in the spotlight as the leading source of IPOs in 2018, the report added.

Domestic broking industry to grow at 5-10% in FY19: Study

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December 27, 2018

The domestic broking industry is likely to grow at a moderate 5-10 per cent in the current fiscal amid cautious investor sentiments and market volatility, says a report.

In the previous fiscal, the industry had grown at over 30 per cent, with turnover of Rs 18,000-19,000 crore.

It said, while on one hand, the volatility in the markets is expected to encourage trading turnover, on the other, the recent corrections in valuations, coupled with the cautious investor stance, would have a bearing on industry revenues in the current fiscal.

The report said that the domestic capital markets are expected to remain rangebound over the near term with a prolonged period of volatility given the weakening of investor sentiment and challenging domestic and global cues.

Going forward, the foreign portfolio investment (FPI) flows are expected to remain muted, with a net outflow of $8-10 billion in FY19 compared to inflows of $4 billion in FY18, considering the weak macro-economic outlook, the agency noted.

“Factors such as corporate earnings, state election outcome, result of the resolution of NPAs and its impact on the health of the banking sector would be other determinants for FPI flows,” it said.

While the FPI segment will remain a key market participant, a growing DII segment is a positive development for the domestic capital markets, providing them with much-needed resilience.

On an aggregate basis, the equity markets reported a turnover of Rs. 1,191 lakh crore in H1 FY2019, registering a growth of 55 per cent over Rs 770 trillion in the year-ago period, the report said.

The average daily turnover (ADTO) increased to Rs 9.53 lakh crore from Rs 6.21 lakh crore during the same period and was Rs 7.04 lakh crore in FY18, it said.

Equity mobilisation through public issuances slowed down significantly in the current fiscal with Rs 0.13 lakh crore raised through 81 issuances in the first half of FY19 compared to over Rs 1 lakh crore through 229 issuances in FY18, the report added.

This is why Khloe Kardashian, Tristan Thompson didn’t celebrate Christmas together

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December 27, 2018

Tristan Thompson was noticeably missing from the Kardashian-Jenner’s Christmas celebrations.

Khloe Kardashian posted a series of photos from sister Kim Kardashian West’s Christmas party which took place yesterday. The pictures featured her and Thompson’s 8-month-old daughter True. However, Thompson wasn’t seen in any of the photos.

A source explained the reason behind his absence from the Christmas bash saying that “he doesn’t have a lot of flexibility” in his basketball schedule.

The Cleveland Cavaliers forward played a game on December 23 and has another one, leaving very little opportunity for the couple to spend their daughter’s first Christmas together.

The insider told an online portal, that because Khloe spent Thanksgiving with Thompson in Cleveland, she wanted to give her little one an opportunity to experience a beautiful holiday with her relatives.

“Khloe wanted to be in L.A. with her family for Christmas. There was nothing more special than seeing True with her cousins on Christmas morning. There was no way she was going to miss the family Christmas Eve party and being a part of opening presents all together on Christmas morning,” the source added.

For the Christmas Eve, the mother-daughter duo rocked matching, snow-inspired outfits and looked their stylish best.

“I have always looked forward to our annual Christmas Eve party but this year was hands down my favorite!! True, you make everything so much more precious and memorable,” the 34-year-old reality star wrote alongside pictures from the party that she posted on her Instagram account.

The source also shared how Khloe loves her family traditions, adding, “She loves her family traditions and wants to continue them with True. She was so happy to be with True and her family on Christmas. That was all she wanted.”

Speaking on Khloe and her relationship with Thompson, the insider said, “Khloe takes one day at a time and focuses on True and giving her everything that she can.”

Around the time of True’s birth in April, photos of Thompson getting close to another woman surfaced online.

‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ recently documented Khloe’s decision to move forward for the sake of their daughter.

“I chose to put my feelings aside for the birth and to try and have as much positive energy that I could. My only thought was about the birth of my daughter. I wasn’t going to let ANYONE disrupt anything less than what she deserved. Joyous love. I chose to be mature & strong for True,” she explained to her followers on social media after allowing Thompson to be in the delivery room with her.